Chapter 99: A Mangekyō Ability That's Dark Beyond Measure
The Rasengan Boruto (with Momoshiki manifested) used to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen was one he had absorbed earlier, taking advantage of the moment when Naruto was teaching Konohamaru the Rasengan.
At that time, he secretly used Takami Musubinokami to absorb it.
Takami Musubinokami, Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki's Rinnegan ability, allows him to absorb ninjutsu, amplify its power, and then release it again.
Absorbing an ordinary Rasengan and releasing it would already produce the power of a Giant Rasengan.
However, to reduce the commotion, Momoshiki chose to compress it.
It was still the size of a normal Rasengan, but its destructive power was terrifying.
Like a meat grinder, it pierced straight through Sarutobi Hiruzen's body.
After dealing with Hiruzen, Momoshiki had originally planned to enlarge the Rasengan and destroy the body completely.
But his keen sensitivity to spacetime suddenly warned him that he couldn't do that.
It seemed that preserving Sarutobi Hiruzen's corpse would play a crucial role in the future, an important node that could not be erased.
"Hmph."
Momoshiki snorted coldly, converting the Rasengan that was about to dissipate into a burst of force, pushing Sarutobi Hiruzen's body deep into the forest.
Half an hour later.
Naruto and Konohamaru returned from catching fish and were puzzled to see only Boruto there.
"Hey, where's my grandpa?"
Konohamaru asked, hands on his hips.
"He said he still had things to take care of and left a long time ago."
Boruto felt deeply guilty about lying to Konohamaru. When he spoke, he didn't even dare look him in the eyes.
But the two kids in front of him were completely carefree and didn't notice anything strange about Boruto at all.
"Busy? Didn't Third Grandpa already retire as Hokage?"
Naruto asked in confusion.
"Don't you know, Naruto? The Fifth Hokage just took office, so Grandpa is still helping handle a lot of things."
Konohamaru explained.
"Oh, so that's how it is…"
"..."
Seeing that he'd managed to fool them, Boruto finally let out a breath of relief.
At the same time, he desperately hoped that his master Sasuke would return soon. He truly had no idea what to do on his own anymore.
—
The desert of the Land of Wind.
After finishing the story, Temari understood what Shiromo was getting at.
Just as she was struggling with who should carry out this task, they passed through a village and happened to see Gaara dealing with several bandits at the village entrance.
Sand Burial.
The sand wrapped them up and crushed them into pulp.
Despite using such brutal methods, when Gaara turned around to comfort the villagers, his demeanor became remarkably gentle.
That gentleness, however, still felt a little awkward, like he was deliberately recalling and imitating the personality of his uncle Yashamaru from memory.
"Now I get why he can become Kazekage. This is indirectly achieving both authority and benevolence."
Watching Gaara's actions, Shiromo couldn't help but smile.
The original Gaara only had "authority", others felt nothing but fear toward him.
After being "talked down" by Naruto, Gaara's personality had changed.
For people who had already been afraid of Gaara, this shift created a huge sense of contrast.
But even though Gaara still looked clumsy and inexperienced now, by the time of the Fourth Ninja World War, he would be fully mature, capable of becoming the leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Comparing the two, it almost felt like Naruto was already over thirty yet still less mature than fifteen-year-old Gaara.
"Sister?"
After finishing up, Gaara turned to leave the village, only to spot Temari and Shiromo.
"Let's go. We'll head back together."
Temari invited him.
"Wait. If you're not in a rush, come with me to two places first."
Shiromo was spreading out a map as he spoke.
"We're not in a hurry. Today's last batch has already been dealt with."
Thanks to Gaara's tireless efforts over the past few days, the turmoil in the Land of Wind caused by the Fourth Kazekage's death was almost fully under control.
Relying on his natural "talent" of being unable to sleep, Gaara had been running around nonstop, eliminating bandits across the land. His methods were extremely ruthless in the eyes of others, and through that, he established new authority.
The three set off together.
On the way to their destination, Shiromo told them about the target of the first location.
"Unsealing a powerful Uchiha from the Warring States period?"
Temari was confused. "A strong one? How strong are we talking?"
"So strong that if Uchiha Madara knew, he'd fall silent. If Uchiha Itachi knew, he'd cry."
"Huh?"
"Just kidding. But purely in terms of Sharingan, her eyes really are stronger than those two."
Well, Madara's Rinnegan doesn't count.
Shiromo could only say that Mangekyō Sharingan abilities were like gacha pulls and version updates.
Madara's Mangekyō abilities were unknown, completely unrecorded even in the databooks, so people could only speculate that it was some kind of reinforcement-type technique.
Itachi had Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi.
Future Sasuke awakened the Mangekyō and got Kagutsuchi and Amaterasu.
So what about this ancient Uchiha ancestor from the Warring States period, Uchiha Hikari?
Her ability was Yachihoko.
Nicknamed the "Mini God Tree."
It could not only absorb other people's chakra, but also inject chakra back into others, with amplification and enhancement effects.
Essentially, it was a self-sacrificial, low-end version of Takami Musubinokami.
Madara's possibly nonexistent "enhanced ninjutsu" Mangekyō ability was completely outclassed.
If Black Zetsu hadn't focused all his attention on the reincarnations of Asura and Indra, and had instead paid a little attention to Uchiha Hikari's mental and physical well-being, Kaguya might have been unsealed back in the Warring States era.
On top of that, Uchiha Hikari's eyes had been implanted with two additional dōjutsu: Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, by the Uchiha clan, using methods described as extremely cruel, painful, inhumane, which are now lost to history.
And due to the amplification effect, Tsukuyomi could evolve into 'Engraved Tsukuyomi', projecting onto the moon. It looked like Infinite Tsukuyomi, yet could achieve effects similar to Kotoamatsukami-level control, even someone like Naruto could be controlled.
Amaterasu was slightly weaker, merely being amplified into Kagutsuchi.
Just listing these abilities made Uchiha Hikari's Sharingan feel dark beyond all limits.
Why not just fuse Kamui into it as well?
Oh, right. Probably because she awakened her eyes too young, hadn't experienced romantic love yet, and thus couldn't "hide tears within Yachihoko."
Alright, that explains it.
Soon, Shiromo and his group arrived at their destination.
The place where Uchiha Hikari was sealed lay on the border of the Land of Rivers.
That small country wedged between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.
Putting it this far away, it was no wonder no one had discovered it for so long.
Following the records in the scroll Sarutobi Hiruzen had given him, Shiromo found the exact location.
"Wait."
Before Shiromo even made a move, Temari suddenly spoke up and stopped him.
"What is it?"
Shiromo looked over and saw Temari wearing a conflicted expression.
"Have you thought about whether she'll listen to you after being unsealed? What if she attacks us the moment she comes out?"
Temari was thinking things through very thoroughly.
"I've thought about that too. And I do have a way to solve that problem, but…"
At this point, Shiromo let out a sigh.
"But what?"
Temari asked, curious.
"It's kind of hard to say out loud. I really don't want to do something like that."
"..."
Hearing this, Temari's expression turned strange.
As if to say, There are actually things 'you' can't bring yourself to say or do?
(End of this chapter)